Espresso Vs Pour (IMO)

Espresso Vs Pour Over (IMO)

My thoughts and opinions on the subject and why I hate espresso!  Let’s get into it.

The main difference between these three things is that they are different brewing methods. All that means is the way the water interacts with the ground coffee, and what you end up drinking is different.

Common terms:

Dialing in—referring to achieving the delicate balance between water, ground coffee, time, and temperature.

Pulling a shot—the standard idiom for making an espresso. The implication is that you have everything in a good balance for making coffee.

Expressing coffee—how you make coffee. At some point, water (hot or cold) will come into contact with the ground (coarse or fine) coffee for a specific amount of time, and the outcome is something you enjoy drinking.

A common misconception is that there is an espresso roast, or a style of coffee specific for espresso. That is false.

Another misconception is that drip coffee is terrible. That is also false. It all comes down to preparation and process.

Espresso Roasts:

Espresso roast became a way to market a style of coffee to people who associated the deep, bitter flavor of a darker roasted coffee with espresso.

Italian roast refers to how long the beans are roasted for, essentially taking the roast to the point of almost burning before dropping the beans into the bean cooler.

Specifically roasted to be expressed as espresso, ergo espresso roast.

Any coffee can be expressed as an espresso; what matters is the grind size of the coffee and the quantity of coffee per dose.

Espresso makes a coffee concentrate that forces every little ounce of flavor (when done properly) from the coffee into a single gulp. Or several slurps depending on how you choose to drink espresso.

Water is heated in a boiler tank, then air is pumped into the tank, reaching pressures of up to nine bars (or nine atmospheres of pressure). Its only path of escape is through your coffee, producing a rich (and small) shot of espresso with a strong aroma of whatever is natural to the bean. Subtle flavors become more pronounced, and the present flavors are emboldened to smack you in the mouth.

Most of the allure comes from the art of pulling a great shot of espresso. The machines are beautiful, ranging from shiny boxes with knobs and dials and guards, to sleek boxes with a simple touch screen or a few soft touch buttons. The more manual machines are sought after for the tactile satisfaction of manipulating the outcome.

Along with the shiny knobby boxes are the grinders that will pulverize your coffee beans into a fine, consistent powder. The increased surface area maximizes the amount of water interaction because most shots are pulled between twenty-eight and thirty-five seconds.

Then you have the little doodads and whacky-callzits that go with puck preparation. All these little steps aid in your quest for a perfect coffee.

The whole thing is romanticized to a degree of excellence, causing espresso to become the industry standard of good coffee.

I believe that espresso machines are an engineering marvel that I do enjoy. I just think it’s a lot of time and effort for such a small quantity of coffee.

Pour overs:

A pour over is my favorite way to make coffee. It’s simple, requires minimal set up, and there is a low threshold for dialing in.

All you need is a coffee funnel, commonly called a pour over. These can be plastic, silicone, metal, or wood. These funnels will hold a paper or mesh filter, typically cone-shaped, and focus the water to a single point. This allows the water to mingle with the coffee for a longer period of time.

You will need something to catch the ready-made coffee. Often times, you will be making a single cup of coffee with a pour-over, so your cup works fine. You can also have a dedicated decanter for your coffee, like a Chemex or Cosori.

You will also want a kettle. Anything to heat up water, so you could use a liquid measuring cup and a microwave if you wanted, but you’ll want the water somewhere between 205 and 210 degrees. Just before boiling. I prefer a goose-neck kettle because you have better control over the flow rate, but you’ll get good coffee either way.

Things that are incredibly helpful (almost to the point of being necessary, but in all honesty, you don’t really need them, although I really think you should…) are a burr grinder, a scale, and a timer.  Weighing out your coffee will produce better coffee, consistent coffee, and predictable consumption rates. Weighing out your coffee tells you how much water you’ll need, and vice versa. The ratio between coffee and water dictates what flavors and how much of each flavor you’ll get out of your cup. Too much water, and you’ll taste more earth notes (nuts, chocolate, spices); too little water, and you’ll get sour tastes (tart cherry, sour, bitter, chemically flavored). Having a good ratio is important.

Time helps because the longer the water is in contact with the coffee, the more essence will be put into the water. That leads to grind size. The finer the grind, the more surface area is exposed, and the more extraction you’ll get out of the coffee. The more coarse, then the opposite is true. Finding the correct grind size for the type of roast is important. Light roasts retain more oil ad moisture, so they need more surface area to be extracted, and dark roasts need a coarse grind. They have less moisture and oil, so they’ll need less contact with water to extract their flavor.

All that being said, you grind appropriately the correct amount of coffee for your cup, then slowly pour hot water over the grounds in a slow, circulating motion to mix up the grounds. All this stirring and agitating will allow all of your coffee to be in contact with water, not letting any coffee stay dry and un-extracted.

I think, with a little bit of practice, a pour-over is easier to achieve and will still produce a beautiful cup of coffee. Espresso seems to be too fussy, and unless you just enjoy the making of an espresso, I think it’s best to leave that to the pros. Visit your local specialty coffee shop and ask for their best espresso and see how it tastes. It’s much easier and way faster to let them do it. It costs a little more in the long run, but I think it’s worth it.

At the end of the day, both methods are excellent ways to brew quality coffee. However, they come with different costs. Espresso machines can range from several hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on your preferences and goals. On the other hand, a simple pour-over system can cost between fifty and eighty dollars. Ultimately, the choice depends on your personal preferences and budget. If the coffee tastes good to you, that’s what truly matters. In my opinion, espresso is overrated for its supposed ‘art’ of making it, but it does produce incredible flavors. Pour-overs, on the other hand, are more accessible and still yield excellent coffee. Regardless of the method you choose, you’ll end up with a great cup of coffee.